College Q&A: VC offers Academy of Lifelong Learning for mature adults

By By Eric Jensen
Dec. 28, 2013 at 6:28 a.m.

Does Victoria College have courses tailored to older adults just for the fun of learning?

Yes, we do, and you're going to love them. Victoria College's Academy of Lifelong Learning is a membership organization for active, mature adults ages 50 and older. The academy offers noncredit classes and social activities for continued intellectual and personal growth.

Drop by the Academy of Lifelong Learning's Open House from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Continuing Education Center building on VC's Main Campus to get more information and register for more than 30 courses. There is a one-time membership fee of $50, which covers all activities for an entire year.

All of the instructors are volunteers. Most classes are no more than two hours, but there are several that are part of a series and are more in-depth, according to Destiny Olson, Lifelong Learning program specialist.

Individuals enrolled in the academy can pick and choose the classes they wish to attend. It can be a social opportunity or strictly for personal enrichment, Olson said.

She added that mah-jongg is back by popular demand, and in the spring, academy members will learn a Chinese version of the game.

The academy will be partnering with VC's Tutoring Center to host several Reading Roundtables to discuss the book "The Other Wes Moore" before author Wes Moore's appearance as part of the Lyceum Lecture Series on Feb. 13.

Other Academy of Lifelong Learning classes slated for the spring semester include: • Viewing the American Revolution from a different perspective

• Art history: Impressionism

• Weekly square dancing taught by the Victoria Promenaders

• Extreme couponing

• Amateur backyard astronomy

• Review of "Murder and Malice: Crimes of Passion in Victoria County," by Gary Hall